How handy are you, would you be able to rebuild it yourself? I did mine, using the "How to rebuild your Ford smallblock" book. Had a machine shop hot tank it and do my overbore, then I bought the kit I needed from PAW. I was under your price even with a kit that contained crank, rods, pistons, cams, lifters, pushrods, rings, gasket, oil pump, timing chain, etc. I think I paid the machine shop 300 for their work, got my engine kit for 600, and spent another couple hundred on a new 2 barrel carb, valve covers & air cleaner.

When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.